Legato's Revenge
by Kotetsu T. Kaburagi
Summary: There are some mistakes we can't take back. Others we don't want to. Free from his master's control, Legato decides to destroy humanity in his own way. Can Vash and a newly reformed Knives stop him before it's too late? Chapter 2 will be all humor


Disclaimer: Too bad, so sad. I don't own it, makes me mad. (not really) .

Legato's Revenge

Part one

By J-chan

For the first time in his life Vash the Stampede missed. Or at least to Legato Bluesummers he did. As he watched the the broken man fall to his knees and weep, he couldn't help but think of the immense pain he must be in. To Vash all that mattered was keeping others alive, even at the cost of losing his own, and it took all the strength Legato could summon not to get up and prove to the blonde that he wasn't really dead. In that one moment when Vash pulled the trigger and the bullet raced for his skull, Legato had re-directed it to only graze himself on the side of the head. Just enough to draw blood and simulate his own death long enough for Vash to leave. He didn't have to wait long however as Vash's sobs subsided, and he rose and collected the two unconcious girls whom Legato had used as puppets to lure him up to the hill. As soon as he was sure Vash was gone he rose and dusted the sand off of his white coat. He brought a hand to his head and flinched at the twinge of pain the action caused. /Ah well, no matter. A minor inconvenience if anything./ He thought to himself. His brilliant plan had worked better than he thought, being the last remaining Gung Ho Gun, and having the power to annihilate anything that got in his way didn't sound so bad. He decided he would take his former master's mission into his own hands and ensure the desruction of the human race. He strode down the hill, dark thoughts on his mind as he was silhouetted agianst the dying light of the twin suns.

Vash stumbled through the sand dunes with his burden. Tears streamed down his face and mingled with blood from the wound on his cheek, causing a stinging sensation. Both Milly and Meryl were slung over his shoulders and added extra weight for him to carry. He continuously repeated what happened in his mind, but it only made it worse. The awful things Legato had said, the malicious look in his eyes, how he had looked so at peace in death. /How can I ever forgive myself/, he thought. /I've become everything I hate, everything I despise! I'm nothing but a murderer!!/. He broke down then and fell to his knees, laying the two girls down and sobbing into his hands. Forgotten were his injuries and everything around him. All that mattered was what he had done and how he would live with the immense guilt he felt. Before long he began to feel lightheaded and he noticed he was bleeding from multiple wounds in his shoulder and side. He tried faintly to remember their source before darkness took him and he fell forward into the sand. At that moment there was movement from the two at his side. Milly sat up and shook her head wearily. "Oh my what's-MR.VASH!! Are you all right?!" She gently lifted him from the sand and gasped when blood came off on her hand. "Oh my God, you're hurt!" She bent over and shook the short girl next to her. "Meryl, wake up! Mr. Vash needs our help!" Meryl groaned and slowly opened her eyes. "Milly? What's going on? What happened?" Meryl's eyes widened as she took in Vash's appearence.

Milly felt sorry for Vash as she carried him over her shoulder to the nearest town. He was surprisingly light for his size, and that fact worried her all the more. She felt a great anger toward Legato for what he had done, and vowed to care for Vash until he was well. Even if it meant working extra jobs in the town, she would do it. After all, it's what Wolfwood would have wanted. Thinking about him made her remember everything that had happened between them, and a single tear escaped from the corner of her eye. She ignored it and wiped it away on her sleeve. Best to be silent and keep to the task at hand or she would stray from the path and her mind would wander to a future she knew she couldn't have. Meryl however was anything but silent. She chattered away about what a fool she had been to ever accept this job in the first place, and how her life would be much safer if she would have just stayed at home. That was the last straw. Milly whirled around and backhanded her superior sending her to the ground.

"Meryl, if it weren't for this poor kind man here you would be dead right now!! How can you say such evil things?! Maybe if you stop being so mean to people all the time they would be nicer to you!! You're nothing but an uptight BITCH!!"

Meryl stared at her friend in shock. Never had Milly erupted at her like that, and most certainly she had never struck her. Milly turned her back to her and Meryl could hear the sobs wracking her body. She rose from the ground and placed a hand on Milly's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Milly. I didn't mean to upset you. I just-"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to Meryl. You just better hope he survives this, for your own sake."

And with that she turned and kept walking ahead leaving Meryl speechless.

Vash slowly opened his eyes, but quickly discovered this to be a mistake. Pain came searing through his head as the suns rays caught his vision. He groaned and sat up looking straight ahead. Then his brain turned on and a slideshow of images played themselves across his memory: Finding Wolfwood in the church, Legato's threat, Midvalley's death, the insurance girls in danger, raising his gun against Legato- /Oh God! What have I done!!/ He buried his face in his hands. Suddenly he heard a noise on the far side of the room. Meryl stopped and stared at him. She had an apprehensive look on her face as she set the groceries down and walked over.

"Oh thank goodness you're finally awake, we thought we might have lost you."

He could only stare blankly back at her as she looked at his wounds. Satisfied that he was doing well physically, she brought him a bowl of soup and told him to eat all of it. He heard her voice cracking as she spoke and it sent a pang of guilt through his heart. He turned to her with hazy eyes.

"I remember.... I remember everything."

Meryl stepped back slightly with a painful gasp and quickly turned away. Vash looked over at her in confusion and she made up a spur-of-the-moment excuse and left the room. Once she was outside Vash broke down and emmitted heart-wrenching painful cries as he realized that for the first time in his life, that he was the cause of someone else's death.

Legato knew that if knives ever found out he survived and didn't return to him he would be angry, so he kept running. For three days and nights he had pressed on looking for someplace to hide until he could build his army. He had it planned for some time now that he would break free from his master's control and decimate the entire planet, even if it meant the deaths of others to achieve it. He would not fail at his self-appointed mission, and he would make sure that not just Vash The Stampede suffered but also his arrogant brother. /He thinks he is the most superior bieng on this planet, well I Legato Bluesummers will prove otherwise./ He thought to himself.

"I will be the lord and master of this pitiful ball of sand!!! Not that dispicable plant or his meddling brother!!!"

He whipped around suddenly as he heard a soft rustling in the dunes behind him, and jumped to the side as a large sand wolf (made up creature) leapt for his throat. He wrestled with it for a time until finally it submitted to his will. Soon after the rest of the pack showed themselves and Legato was made their master. This was to be part of his new army and they would help him to conquer all of Gunsmoke. An evil grin spread across his shadowed face and he laughed maniacally into the night as his new followers howled around him.

Knives shot straight up in bed and looked around the dark bedroom. He shivered, breaking out in a cold sweat as he recalled the nightmare that was still fresh in his mind. It had been six months since he had lost the battle with his brother, and he was just now starting to get used to sharing the small cabin with the two insurance women. Almost right away he had warmed up to the taller woman, who always greeted him with a warm smile and a compliment. She reminded him of Vash in a way, and that made him feel comforted. The smaller, more unsophisticated, one however, took some getting used to. She had something negative to say about everything he did, and when he would refuse her help she would act as though she didn't hear him. Before he could reflect any further on the past, the doornob turned and Vash entered the room. He stopped short upon seeing the frown on Knives's face, and walked over and sat down on his bed.

"What's wrong Knives?"

Knives turned and looked out the window in quiet contemplation. When he looked back to Vash he noticed the worried expression in his brother's eyes. He sighed and said,

"I don't know for sure, but I think I just had a vision. In a dream I saw Legato. He said he wanted to destroy the planet, and that he didn't need me to give him orders anymore. Vash, I think Legato is still alive!"

Vash's eyes widened in shock, and he stepped back a few feet. The entire scene from that fateful day replayed itself anew in his mind, and he sat down on the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. Knives rose from his spot and approached his brother, confusion etched in his features. It was then that he noticed that Vash was mumbling something, but he couldn't make it out. He sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. At the contact Vash looked up at him with unshed tears forming in his eyes.

"He can't be alive Knives! He can't be!! I shot him dead myself, with my own gun! I saw him die; I saw him fall to the ground and stop breathing, felt his mind close, his heart stop! I caused it to happen, and I broke my promise to Rem."

He bowed his head in shame and Knives did the only thing he could do. He pulled his twin into a comforting hug and sat there as Vash cried into his shoulder.

"Don't worry Vash. Whatever Legato is planning to do, we'll stop him. If he thinks he can outsmart a couple of supergeniuses, he's got another thing coming! Besides, since he's still alive it means that you didn't break your promise after all, and that you never killed anyone! Now come on, we've got to get some rest before we head out. Legato, wherever you are, we're coming for you!"

Hey everyone. J-chan again. I usually don't write chapter stories, but this thing is a pain in the ass!! I finally got so fed up with how to continue it, that I've turned it over to my best friend Megani-chan. She'll be doing part 2 and I'll post it when she's done. I really like the stories she writes and I think you'll believe me when I say that she is a better writer than me. Oh well, I'll let you decide for yourself. Make sure to leave a review on your way out. See ya next chapter.

J-chan


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